Has Gianni Infantino’s presidency been any different? The 2018 and 2022 World Cups were hosted in Russia and Qatar, respectively. Both countries have been criticized for their record in regards to human rights. Infantino understood this was not good and pointed out that it was the previous regime’s dereliction of duty. He is aiming to be different.
After Infantino basically confirmed Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup, another country that has been criticized for issues with human rights, some feel not much has changed.
Football journalist Samindra Kunti, who is based in Leuven, Belgium, believes FIFA president Gianni Infantino is unfit to continue in his role.
Samindra Kunti
“Now, they are going to Saudi in 2034 [2034 World Cup] so Infantino can no longer say 2018 and 2022 were the burden of the previous FIFA regime because he’s chosen to go to Saudi Arabia,” Kunti said. “So, his argument that it was all the old FIFA is bullshit, of course.”
A FIFA spokesperson sent a reminder of the democratic bidding process and inactivity from other nations in regards to bidding for the 2034 World Cup. The members of Asian Football Confederation and Oceania Football Confederation were give a chance to create bids.
“They – with the exception of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation – chose not to do so. That was their decision, not FIFA`s.”
Another important note is the president does not choose the host nation for the World Cup, himself. After the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress, FIFA created the FIFA Council, the decision making group for the organization. Gianni Infantino leads the group, but there are 36 other members involved. Those members are all associated with the six confederations in FIFA (AFC, CONEMBOL, UEFA, CAF, CONCACAF, and OFC). The decision is made as a group.
The 2030 and 2034 World Cup bidding processes were done concurrently. The 2030 World Cup will be joint-hosted by Africa, Europe and South America. Some people feel as if Asia and Saudi Arabia were destined to host the tournament in 2034. This provided an almost full rotation of involvement from five of the six confederations across eight years.
2026: CONCACAF – Hosts: Canada, Mexico, and USA
2030: CAF, UEFA, South America – Hosts: Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay
2034: AFC – Host: Saudi Arabia
“…it is in the best interests of the FIFA World Cup and of securing the best possible hosting conditions for the tournaments that the bidding processes for both the 2030 and 2034 editions be run concurrently.”
Kunti feels there is a level of hypocrisy apparent.
“He says A and then he does B,” Kunti said. “The examples are numerous. He dismantled FIFA’s ethics committee basically the moment he got in. He claims to care about the climate as a PR stunt. He constantly criss-crosses the world in a private jet. At the latest COP in Dubai [United Nations Climate Change Conference] he arrived in his private jet. Then, he just jetted off to Indonesia, from Indonesia he went to Guam, from Guam to Hawaii, and Hawaii to Miami.”
Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, (R) speaking with the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, (L) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2023
The FIFA Ethics Committee is selected through Congress, not the president himself and there is now a full transparency policy for the legal decisions FIFA makes (Article 37.3-Confidentiality) FIFA Code of Ethics, 2023.
An important note is there are 211 member associations of FIFA. Travel becomes an essential component. An absence of Infantino’s presence at major events could be perceived as a lack of interest from the leader of the organization.
FIFA has a sustainability section and has committed their focus to decreasing carbon emissions.
There has been a focus on building eco-friendly stadiums. FIFA claimed the 2022 World Cup would be “carbon-neutral”. Claims of hypocrisy rose to the surface again.
FIFA estimated the tournament would have a carbon footprint or carbon waste of 3.6 million tonnes. Lancaster University professor Mike Berners-Lee estimated a total over “10 million tonnes”. There were seven stadiums built in the lead up for the tournament out of the eight used, and all but one were built specifically to host the World Cup. Completing the construction of seven stadiums in the span of a little over a decade requires extensive work.
Migrant workers in poor working conditions reportedly lacked protection.
“If you look at how migrant workers were treated, their passports were confiscated, they had no health insurance, they worked endless hours, they were often subjected to wage theft, they had no legal recourse and no legal representation in case of a conflict,” Kunti said. “I think one of the key elements in the definition of forced labor is passport confiscation. FIFA were made aware.”
Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, admitted 400-500 people died in preparation for the tournament. A FIFA spokesperson told the Sports Gazette the Human Rights & Social Responsibility Sub-Committee of FIFA is conducting an independent assessment in regards to the remediation of workers that suffered harm. The process to decide whether more action needs to be taken is “ongoing”.
In regards to morality, the reported lavish lifestyles of high ranking FIFA officials during the tenures of previous presidents, João Havelange and Sepp Blatter, did not help FIFA’s reputation. A FIFA spokesperson spoke about the changes at the organization since the regimes of previous presidents.
“Since the conclusions of investigations into the previous regime, the current, democratically elected, president Gianni Infantino has changed FIFA from a toxic institution to a respected, trusted and modern governing body.
“In 2022, FIFA was rated with some of the best standards of governance following a review conducted by the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations. Additionally in 2021, the U.S Department of Justice awarded $201 million in compensation for the losses suffered by FIFA, and confederations, following decades of corruption in football.”
The latest dilemma is the impending calls for UEFA and FIFA to make a decision on the involvement of Israel. Israel’s ongoing conflict with Palestine divides opinion. Allowing Israel to compete in international competition has divided opinion, too. Israel has a crucial play-off qualifier against Iceland on March 21st to determine if they will qualify for Euro 2024. Russia has been banned from international football aftering entering war with Ukraine. Some people are calling for the same restrictions to be applied for Israel.
“That’s the million dollar question that I was asking people last week at the conference in Norway,” Kunti said. “The obvious comparison even though some people will dispute it is Russia, and they got banned by FIFA. If you look at how football governing bodies reacted when Russia invaded Ukraine. Then, you look at how they responded when Israel invaded Gaza after the October 7th terrorist attacks. The response is day and night.”
UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, has refused to consider blocking Israel from the European Championships. The governing body’s general secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, believes there is no room for comparison.
Theodore Theodoridis, UEFA General Secretary, photographed in between Alexander Ceferin and Gabriele Gravina at a UEFA conference in Paris
“They are two completely different situations between the two countries,” Theodoridis said. “Don’t forget the start of the war, you mentioned Ukraine, and at the start of what is happening now, which is regrettable now, in the Middle East.”
Does FIFA still has questions to answer? Could these inquiries could get even louder? Infantino is hoping for a future that ties FIFA’s reputation to a higher esteem.
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